Castors

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a furniture or like castor comprising a body part rotatable about a vertical axis, and a metal roller which is pivotally mounted upon the body part in a position to one side of the latter and which has a peripheral rear flange having an outer face provided with recess means, for example an annular recess, therein. A covering of non-metallic material, for example of polyurethane, is moulded on the roller and keys with the recess means, and has lip means engaging an inner face of the flange, the lip means and recess means constituting means for retaining the covering on the roller. That part of the lipped covering which covers the recessed outer face of the flange constitutes a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor.

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sum 2 or 2 INVENTORS: H. BrassL' gtonMjR'Aston ATTORNEY};

,1 CASTORS This invention relates to furniture and like castors of that kind comprising a body part rotatable about a vertical axis, and a metal roller pivotally mounted upon the body part in a position to one side of the latter.

According to the invention, in a furniture or like castor, of the above kind, the metal roller has a peripheral rear flange having an outer face provided with recess means therein, and the said flanged roller has moulded thereon a covering of nonmetallic material which extends over and keys with said recess means in said outer face of the flange and is moulded around a rear edge of the flange and has retaining lip means engaging an inner face of the flange, said lip means and said recess means constituting means for retaining the covering in place on the roller, and the outer surface, of that part of the covering which covers the recessed outer face of the flange, constituting a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor. Preferably, the covering material covers an entire front face of the roller; and preferably, also, the recess means in the outer face of the flange is an annular recess, of a shallow V-section. The material of the metal roller may be zinc base alloy. The material of the covering may be plastics material, for example polyurethane, or said material may, for example, be of rubber. The covering may be moulded over the roller by an injection moulding process. 7

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows, by way of example, and in vertical section, a castor constituting a convenient embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1A of said drawings shows separately in elevation a roller of the castor shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates a modified roller.

FIG. 3 illustrates a roller with a modified covering.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 1A of the drawings, the'furniture castor shown therein comprises a metal body part 1 of a hollow cone shape provided with an upper enlargement 2 constituting a boss from which rises a pivot shank 3 for rotatably engaging a bearing socket in the article of furniture to which the castor is to be attached, whereby the castor body 1, when the shank 3 is in place in the said socket, is rotatable about a vertical axis constituted by the axis of the shank. The body 1 carries a forwardly and downwardly extending oblique pivot pin 4 which projects beyond an open front mouth 5 of the body 1, and pivotally mounted upon the front end of this oblique pin 4 is a metal roller 6 in the fonn of a wheel of zinc base alloy, the said roller 6 being in one piece and comprising a main coned or domed portion 7, a rearwardly extending socket portion 8 in which the pin 4 is joumalled, and an annular peripheral rear flange 9 extending around the entire circumference of the roller. The roller is frictionally retained upon the pin 4 by means of a circlip 10.

The peripheral flange 9 of the flanged roller 6 has formed in its outer face an annular recess 1 1 which extends uninterruptedly along the entire circumference of the said flange and is of a shallow V-shape in cross-section. The said flanged roller 6 has moulded thereon, by injection moulding, a covering 12 of polyurethane which covers the entire front face 6a of the roller and has a relatively thickened, rearwardly directed annular portion 13 which extends over the entire recessed outer face of the flange 9, said portion 13 of the covering engaging into, so as to key with, the annular V-sectioned recess 11 in the outer face of the flange. The said polyurethane covering 12 is moulded around the rear edge (shown at 9a) of the flange 9 and has an annular returned portion 14 forming a retaining lip which engages the inner face of the flange 9. The recess 11 in the flange 9, and the lip 14, constitute means for securely retaining the polyurethane covering 12 in place on the metal roller 6. The outer surface, shown at 15, of the relatively thickened, rearwardly directed portion 13 of the said covering constitutes a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor.

The keying engagement between the annular V-sectioned recess 11 and the portion 13 of the covering prevents or resists any tendency of the covering material to work off the flange 9 of the roller.

If desired, the recess 1 1 could be of any other suitable shape in cross-section, or, instead of there being an annular recess in the outer face of the flange 9, the said outer face could have therein, as shown in FIG. 2, a series of circumferentially spaced recesses 11' for keying with the covering material. Also, if desired the covering of the roller 6 could take the form of a tire and comprise only that portion of the covering which engages the inner and recessed outer faces of the flange 9, the front face of the roller in such case being left exposed as shown in FIG. 3, in which the tire is indicated by the reference 12'. It is, however, preferred that the recess means in the outer face of the flange 9 be an annular recess; and that the covering material cover the front face of the'roller 6, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

The roller may be made of any other suitable metal, and the non-metallic covering material may be of any other suitable plastics material, or may be of rubber or the like, if desired.

We claim:

1. A castor comprising a body part rotatable about a vertical axis; a metal roller pivotally mounted upon the body part in a position to one side of the latter, said roller having a front face presented away from the body part; a peripheral rear flange on said roller, said flange having an outer face, having therein an annular recess of shallow V-section, and an inner face and a rear edge; and a covering of polyurethane material which is mounted on said flanged roller and covers entirely said front face of the roller and which extends completely over and keys with the said annular recess in the outer face of said flange, said covering being moulded around the rear edge of the flange and having retaining lip means engaging the said inner face of said flange, said lip means and said recess constituting means for retaining the covering in place on the roller, and that part of said lipped covering which covers the recessed outer face of the flange constituting a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor.

2. A castor comprising a body part rotatable about a vertical axis; a metal roller pivotally mounted upon the body part in a position to one side of the latter, said roller having a front face presented away from said body part; a peripheral rear flange on said roller, said flange having an outer face, having an annular recess therein, an inner face, and a rear edge; and a covering of non-meta.llic material which is moulded on said flanged roller and covers the entire front face of said roller and which extends over and keys with said annular recess in the outer face of said flange, said covering being moulded around the said rear edge of the flange, and having retaining lip means engaging the said inner face of said flange, said lip means and said annular recess constituting means for retaining the covering in place on the roller, and the outer surface of that part of said lipped covering which covers the recessed outer face of the flange constituting a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor.

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1. A castor comprising a body part rotatable about a vertical axis; a metal roller pivotally mounted upon the body part in a position to one side of the latter, said roller having a front face presented away from the body part; a peripheral rear flange on said roller, said flange having an outer face, having therein an annular recess of shallow V-section, and an inner face and a rear edge; and a covering of polyurethane material which is moulded on said flanged roller and covers entirely said front face of the roller and which extends completely over and keys with the said annular recess in the outer face of said flange, said covering being moulded around the rear edge of the flange and having retaining lip means engaging the said inner face of said flange, said lip means and said recess constituting means for retaining the covering in place on the roller, and that part of said lipped covering which covers the recessed outer face of the flange constituting a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor.
 2. A castor comprising a body part rotatable about a vertical axis; a metal roller pivotally mounted upon the body part in a position to one side of the latter, said roller having a front face presented away from said body part; a peripheral rear flange on said roller, said flange having an outer face, having an annular recess therein, an inner face, and a rear edge; and a covering of non-metallic material which is moulded on said flanged roller and covers the entire front face of said roller and which extends over and keys with said annular recess in the outer face of said flange, said covering being moulded around the said rear edge of the flange, and having retaining lip means engaging the said inner face of said flange, said lip means and said annular recess constituting means for retaining the covering in place on the roller, and the outer surface of that part of said lipped covering which covers the recessed outer face of the flange constituting a contact surface for engaging and rolling on the floor. 